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Review:75011 Tantive IV and Planet Alderaan/Omega X.23
Micro-building has never been more fun! “Review: 75011 Tantive IV and Planet Alderaan” (Star Wars) :"While Coruscant has always been considered the heart of the Republic, to some extent, Alderaan has been its soul." :―A HoloNet dossier on Alderaan :Hello and welcome to the review of set 75011 by Ωmega X.23! Welcome! I shake you warmly by the hand--Ok, strike that out--and comments, critics are most welcome! So, let's move on! : Background information on the Planets line :Last year, Lego released a new line of SW sets---Planets. Bascically, these sets include a planet, a model, and a minifigure(along with a stand, if that counts). When I first saw this line, I felt rather interested as it was released in a "Series" form, which spurs a uncontrollable and queer urge of collecting them all, a tatic which Lego used in the Collactable Minifigures line. Also, not forgetting my interest in microbuilding (I'll get to it later)! :This theme swiftly expanded, and within one and a half (barely) years, four great series has been released. I've always wanted to buy one, but the price is rather......high. And my Lego store must run out of stock when the sale approached....Anyway, I've finally gotten my hands on a rather newly released (At least when I got it. Again, I must use the already overused brackets...) Series 4 set: 75011 Tantive IV & Planet Alderaan. Well, does this set live up to my expectations? Should you consider buying it? Well, read on! (That's what they all say, no?) The Box The box design for this theme is rather interesting, considering the fact that the parts aren't stored in the box itself. There's a big hole (I didn't bother measuring the radius/diameter) in the center of the box and it houses the planet, which fits nicely in it. All the parts are stored in the planet. (except the instruction booklet of course!) The box is mainly green for this year (I find it rather strange at first, but now it's okay) and features Grand Master Yoda kicking with his lightsaber lit up. The center is features the main model, a scaled down version of Tantive IV and the ever-so-detailed planet Alderaan. At the bottom left hand corner showcases the only figure included--A Rebel Trooper. The Back of the Box The back of the box, is, like the front, very detailed. Yes, the planet is visible at the back, occupying the center. So, the top is dominated with the Lego logo and a sign "SERIES 4" with all three planets of the series. There's a main picture of the entire set, along with a small graphic showing the possiblity of hanging the included planet on the ceiling via a piece included. (Again, the ingenuity of Lego. Who would've thought of that?) At the bottom are the pictures of the other two sets of the series: 75009 and 75010. I might consider doing reviews of them at a later stage, but that's no promise! Also, I'm rather astonished that Yoda Chonicles is not advertised here...... Contents The contents, as mentioned above, inlcudes a planet, a microbuild, and a minifigure (Okay! And a stand too). The parts come packaged inside the planet, in two different bags, one bag for the larger pieces, and the other for smaller ones. A interesting thing to note is that the pieces almost seemed vacuumed to fit inside the planet. Rather scrunched up, in other words. Some things to note regarding the contents, there is a 'Code' for the Yoda Chronicles in the instructions, but when I tried unlocking, it does bascically nothing. Parts One of the many reasons why II bought this set is because of the piece count. Hey, when a set offers you the highest piece count ever in the series, wouldn't you buy it? Here are some interesting pieces: *A 4X4 black printed plate, unique to every planet set. *Some(I didn't count! D:) 1X1 flat dark red round tile, a rather new piece, although used VERY often nowadays. *Two 1X1 white flat cone, commonly referred to as a Fez *A 1X2 brick with SNOT pieces on both sides, which works wonders with SNOT in the set. The Planet The main attraction in the set would probably be the planet Alderaan. Like (almost) all other planet sets, this planet is very detailed. When I first saw this planet, my first impression: EARTH. Really! It looks way too similiar....... So, I did some research and it turns out that Alderaan was the home for Princess Liea and the Empire was like "Oh that planet is a threat! Let's destroy it!" and Death Star comes and BOOM basts it to a million fragments called the Graveyard, savy? So, back to the topic. The planet itself is rather average sized, and it fits perfectly in my palm. The surface is preety detailed, with different shades of blue and green overlapping one another, and with traces of white detectable within the tangled mass of greens and blues. Although it may not be obvious, both sides are identitcal, but the effect is equally stunning with or without the need of identical sides. Here are some more views of the planet. The build Now onto the build. The build comes in one instruction manual which fits inside the box, not the planet. Bascically the build comes in two main parts--the stand and the ship(Tantive IV). The build is surprisingly interesting for a relatively small set like this. Lego really put in great detailing and created a ship looking so alike to the actual ship. It also packed lots of building techniques in the form of connection. SNOT, hinges, rods, and SNOT again are some examples, and the effect is stunning. | | To be updated...eventually...